


Of trolls and things

by Menya_Savut



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons), Trollhunters - Daniel Kraus & Guillermo del Toro
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood, Friendship, Gen, Happy Ending, Intense, Trans Character, darker and edgier?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-02-10 17:59:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18665506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Menya_Savut/pseuds/Menya_Savut
Summary: Fill for the trans_positivity_fiction prompt meme here on AO3:"Anything with trans boy Eli. Could potentially have some Steve x Eli, but doesn't have to."WARNINGS: Blood, and a character is outed to someone without their consent. However, I did my best to write responsibly.





	Of trolls and things

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [trans_positivity_fiction](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/trans_positivity_fiction) collection. 



> To the anon who requested this: I really hope you like it and I’m very sorry if you don’t – I just saw that you made your request nearly a year ago and I felt bad that no one had claimed it or fulfilled it, so this is my attempt. I hope this is somewhat what you wanted.

“Watch your step.”

Jim led the way down the glowing staircase. Steve followed behind, careful not to trip. The solid wall that had opened up to them only moments ago had already closed behind them, and the growls and footfalls of the terrifying beasts outside had faded away. He held Eli in his arms; the boy was groaning, and Steve was afraid to look down. One of the things had attacked him, right before Jim had jumped in and cut it to rubble.

At the bottom of the staircase was a massive underground causeway, illuminated by the orange-yellow glow of a massive stone structure in the distance. Lining the roads were strange buildings, but everything was silent.

“It’s still early,” Jim said, not looking back. “Everyone’s still asleep. Hurry up.”

They entered one of the buildings. Jim took them to an earthen room with a bed in one corner. The ceilings were unusually high.

“Set him down there,” said Jim. He crossed the room to the cupboards and started pulling out rolls of bandages, bottles of ointment, a pair of scissors. Eli groaned again as Steve laid him onto the bed.

“You’re gonna have to hold him down,” said Jim, coming to join them. “This is gonna hurt.”

Steve finally looked at Eli properly. His face was white, and beneath that his shirt was stained red. Something churned in Steve’s stomach, but he couldn’t tell if it was revulsion or fear. He sat by Eli’s head and grasped his shoulders, holding him steady.

“You’re gonna have to keep still, Eli, okay?” Jim was saying. “Even if it hurts. Okay?”

Eli made some small noise in response. Steve’s hands felt clammy.

“Close your eyes, Steve,” said Jim.

“I can handle it—” said Steve.

“ _Close your eyes._ ”

Jim had been angry at him before, countless times, but there was something else in Jim’s voice Steve had never heard – it sounded like terror.

Steve closed his eyes. He could only sense what was going on now. He felt Jim sit down on the bed as well, and Eli jerked – Steve dutifully held him steady.

“No, no no no no—“ Eli was whimpering.

“Eli, hold still – hush – Eli, I know you’re a boy, okay? I’m sorry...You need to stay still...”

Steve felt Eli trembling beneath his hands. He couldn’t understand what was going on. All he could hear were Eli’s cries, Jim’s murmurings of weak comfort, the rustling of fabric. Eli fought Steve’s hold fitfully. Steve didn’t know how long his eyes were closed. Finally, finally, he felt Jim stand up from the bed.

“Keep your eyes closed.”

More shuffling around him – he felt cloth brush against his hands.

“You can open your eyes now.”

Eli looked just as pale as before, but his breathing was a little steadier. He was covered by a blanket – that was the cloth Steve had felt. Steve carefully removed his hands from Eli’s shoulders.

“I’m gonna go wake up the others,” Jim said. “Don’t be afraid if a troll comes in here – only good trolls live in Trollmarket. Stay put until I come back.”

Steve didn’t know where Jim expected him to go – it wasn’t as if he could pass through solid wall, even if he did figure out how to navigate back to the staircase. But Jim left before Steve could ask any questions.

Eli’s eyes had fluttered shut. His breaths came out more evenly now. He turned his head to the side, and his hair brushed against Steve’s hand where it rested on the bed.

“Steve?” said Eli.

“Yeah?”

“You’re my friend, right?”

Steve felt suddenly anxious. “What? Yeah – don’t talk like you’re gonna die or something.”

“No, I don’t mean that,” said Eli. He opened his eyes and looked up at Steve. He had somehow managed to not lose his glasses throughout the ordeal, but one of the lenses had a crack running through it. It cast a veiny shadow over Eli’s left eye and cheek.

“Then what’re you trying to say?” asked Steve, a little more aggressively than he intended to.

“Did you hear what Jim said?”

“Huh?”

“Just now. When he was bandaging me up.” Eli’s voice was high. “He said, ‘ _I know you’re a boy’_. Do you know what that means?”

“No,” said Steve, nonplussed. “Do you?”

“Yeah,” said Eli. He flopped his head to the other side, so that he wasn’t looking at Steve anymore. Steve watched Eli’s thin hands grasp the edge of the blanket. “It means Jim knows I’m trans. And now you do too.”

Steve was silent for a moment. Then, he said, “So – so you’re not dying?”

Eli let out a surprised laugh. It sounded wet. “No, I’m not dying.” He exhaled. “You _do_ know what ‘trans’ means, right?”

“I mean, yeah, I know what ‘trans’ is, duh,” said Steve, maybe with more confidence than he really had. “Jim said you were a boy—”

“Assigned female at birth.” That was Jim, entering the room again. He held a white T-shirt, a PE uniform. He sounded tired. “Eli _is_ a boy. And he shouldn’t have to worry about explaining this right now. I’m sorry I know, Eli,” he continued, crossing to the bed and sitting across from Steve again. “I shouldn’t have found out – hell, you shouldn’t have gotten caught up in all this troll business – I’m sorry.”

Eli sighed. “You couldn’t help it.”

“I brought a clean shirt,” said Jim, a little more lightly. “Less covered in blood. It ought to be an improvement, huh?”

Eli grinned feebly. “I can’t believe you wrecked my favorite shirt, Jim.”

Jim laughed. “Here.”

He reached for Eli, helping him sit up and remove his shredded shirt. Steve saw the bandages covering Eli’s back; they circled around his entire torso. Jim carefully maneuvered Eli into the clean shirt, and Eli carefully lay back down onto the bed.

“So what now?” asked Eli.

“I’ll have to tell the council about you two,” said Jim. “They’ll have some ideas about what to do with you, and I’ll have to convince them otherwise...And we’ll have to figure out how to manage your injury...But that can wait ‘til tomorrow. I’ll call your parents and tell them you’re staying over at my place for a group project. I’ll find some extra pillows and things and we can stay here for the night.”

Jim exited the room; Steve could hear him rummaging around in the next room over. Eli’s eyes slid shut again. Steve considered for a moment, then stood up and moved to the end of the bed. He untied each of Eli’s shoes and slipped them off.

“We are friends,” he said, mostly to himself.

Eli laughed again, a soft, breathy sound. “Thanks.”

**Author's Note:**

> hi. if this fic is problematic please let me know so i can remedy it. i wanna do only good things here.


End file.
